Earl Washington Awarded $2.25 Million for Wrongful Conviction
Alan Hirsch of Truth About False Confessions ran an interesting item recently: Happy ending. It describes the $2.25 million jury award given on Friday to Earl Washington, a mildly retarded man who who spent 16 years in prison, 9 of them on death row, for a rape and murder he didn’t commit.
The Washington Post has more about the story: Wrongfully jailed man wins suit. And here’s an article (with accompanying video and audio) based on a talk given by lawyer Peter Neufeld at the University of Virginia law school: Earl Washington case shows reforms to death penalty, criminal cases needed, Neufeld says.
After a three-day trial, Washington was convicted of the murder of Williams. After a half-hour penalty phase, he was sentenced to death.
Scary stuff.
Finally, I’ve just-now added to my Amazon wish list (hint, hint) Margaret Edds’ book An Expendable Man: The Near-Execution of Earl Washington Jr.
